Thursday, January 16, 2014

Chocolate Prune Bread a Babes Delight

Last month the Bread Baking Babes had a cake that was
actually a bread (Lardy Cake) and this month we have a bread that has many of
the flavors of a cake. If you love chocolate and bread combined, you'll love
this loaf. I made mine with chopped pecans in the dough and with chunks of
bittersweet chocolate and dried cherries (instead of prunes) kneaded in before shaping. It is full
of flavor from the cocoa in the dough, too. I only made half the recipe, which
makes one loaf...plenty for two people. In the recipe below the amounts in
parentheses and italics are the amounts of ingredients I used for the half
recipe.

Although I had expected some rise in the dough when I first
set it out to expand, it was pretty inactive for a couple of hours. Then it was
bedtime, so I covered the bowl (same one I made it in, unwashed, un-oiled
Elizabeth!) and put it into the fridge. The next day I was too busy to deal
with it, but the next day, after the dough had warmed up some, it rose just
fine. Back into the fridge it went. The next day I kneaded in the cherries and
chocolate and shaped it into a loaf shape. Working with fairly cold dough is helpful. I had already buttered the pan and
sprinkled it with sanding sugar, so in went the shaped loaf. It rose by about 1/3 in the pan while the oven
preheated. After an egg wash and more sanding sugar on top, I slashed the top
to allow for oven spring. Glad I did that because the oven spring was awesome!
The bottom of the loaf was a little more browned than I would have
like...chocolate can burn easily, but overall it was a delicious, decadent
bread. Although many flavors were cake like, you could still see the bread
texture and still taste the yeast, so not cake...BREAD!

Thank you Jaime, our Kitchen of the Month, blogging at Life's a Feast, for choosing this interesting recipe.

Thank you Elizabeth for lending
me your Battle Apron, which I felt I needed when the dough refused to rise the
first day. That and some patience seem to be what was needed to be successful
with this lovely loaf.

Do try it for yourself! You can be a Buddy by making it,
taking a photo or two and sending Jaime an e-mail (please include your name and your blog’s name) by January 26th to jamieannschler AT gmail DOT com with January Bread Baking Buddy in the subject line. Do visit all the Bread Baking Babes to see their bountiful versions, too. OOPS! Buddy deadline is actually Jan. 29th! Still time....

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with
flour and cut off a 1 ½ pound piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly
shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the
bottom on all sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go. Using a
rolling pin, roll out the dough into a ½ - inch-thick (scant 1 ½ cm) rectangle.
As you roll out the dough, use enough flour to prevent it from sticking to the
work surface but not so much as to make the dough dry.

Sprinkle the chocolate and chopped prunes over
the dough and roll up the dough jelly-roll style to enclose them. Fold the
dough over itself several times, turning and pressing it down with the heel of
your hand after each turn. This will work the chocolate and prunes (or cherries) into the
dough; some may poke through.

With very wet hands, form the dough into a loaf
shape and place it into the prepared pan. Allow to rest and rise for 90
minutes, loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). A baking
stone is not required and omitting it shortens the preheat.

Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the loaf
with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the loaf in the center of the oven
for 50 to 60 minutes until firm. Smaller or larger loaves with require
adjustments to baking time.

Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool
on a rack before slicing and eating.

Mix the oil, yeast, salt and sugar with the
water in a 6-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and the chocolate
chips without kneading, using a spoon or heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle).
If you are not using the machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate
the last bit of flour.

Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room
temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top),
approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the
initial rise, though it is easier to handle with cold. Refrigerate the
container of dough and use over the next 5 days. Beyond the 5 days, freeze the
dough in 1-pound (about 450 g) portions in airtight containers for up to 4
weeks. When using frozen dough, thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before
using, then allow the usual rest and rise time.

Bread with so much sugar in it can be slow risers, but glad yours worked (with a little help of the apron of course!)I particular like the dried cherries, those go so well with chocolate.Living dangerous! Not placing it a cleaned and oiled bowl hahaha so funny!

Oooh I see a battle apron! Great choice of dried cherries and I wish I had easy access (or let's say cheaper) pecans here because I'd love me some pecans. We followed the same line of thinking I guess with the nuts. I really like your loaf shape.

How totally awesome my dear.I know that apron ... and time/patience ... are key ingredients to the success here. I really look forward to this one! Isn't it neat that we can now find bitter chocolate in chip form now.

Natashya, the cherries were good and they are my fav with chocolate.Elizabeth, no punishment, just an oven that overcooks stuff on the bottom. I thought the dirty bowl was daring :)Katie, you would love the texture of this one, and it is easy to make. Wonder if you could make it gluten free? You are so great at converting recipes!Lien, the apron is probably the key...haha...or the dirty bowl!Tanna, I do like the bittersweet chips, but this time had to create the chunks from a block of Scharffenberger's...such a sacrifice...not!

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